I just recieved my purple belt (for us this is the belt just below brown) in American Karate. At this level we really start to focus on self defense. In class we practice on each other but we never go "full out" as nobody would appreciate a broken elbow or knee (or worse). I am conserned that I may preform in real life the way I have been practicing. Am I right to be concerned about this, or will adrenaline take over and cause me to follow through? How do you practice your self defence techniques? I am mostly asking this of martial artists, but I welcome all input. Thanks in advance for you help.

I train in BJJ, Shooto and Muay Thai. When I spar, it's pretty much full force.

The nice thing about grappling arts (BJJ and Shooto) is that you can give your opponent (training partner) a chance to give up (tap) before you break the joint. This is possible, because our submissions are always done after we secure positions (so that even if the submission fails, we can still maintain a superior position and try again).

For Muay Thai, full-force sparring requires some nice protective gear to not kill each other.

You will never be able to completely replicate real-life encounters, but with proper protective gear and realistic rules, you can train full-force.

For me, there are four levels of full-force training: 1) all grappling techniques allowed, no striking; 2) all grappling techniques, light slaps and bumps with feet and knees; 3) all grappling and moderate-strength (no vital areas) strikes with bag gloves and lastly 4) all grappling and strikes with lots of safety gear and thick, padded gloves.

I should note that "American Karate" (I don't know what you are refering to, but maybe Ed Parker's lineage?) is not considered street effective anymore because of its limitations in training and techniques. In some ways, it suffers from the same problem TKD people suffer.

Yes, we do fight in real life the way we train. Unfortunately, our opponents in real fights do not move or act like our training partners in most martial arts.

Skorzeny

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For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence. Sun Tzu

Thanks for you reply. Our style of Karate is mostly an offshoot of Shotokan with a healty dose of Kenpo and Kick boxing thrown in. We do get some training in ground fighting that some of our black belts have learned from the Gracies. I don't know how effective this would be on the street, but it seems pretty effective in class. Since I have a CHL, I carry almost all the time and look at my karate as more of a backup and a way to get enough space to draw my gun and help me retain it. I realize that if I am ever reduced to only my hands and feet for defense on the street, I am probably going to be on the losing side. However, I still want to be able to protect myself and my loved ones to the best of my ability.

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